WOOHOO!!! TODAY WE CELEBRATE BROOKS’ 1st LIVERSARY!!!!

Here we are. ONE YEAR since Brooks’ liver transplant! One year ago today, Grant had been through 24 hours of testing. That afternoon he called me from his hospital room and said “LET’S GO BABY! They’re coming to get Brooksy now.” He was a match. I can relive it so vividly that it feels like yesterday. And then other days it feels like 10 lifetimes ago. The ache in my heart will never go away when I think back to those days. I can hardly even look at pictures in the weeks leading up to it, just imagining what his little body was going through and we had no idea.

I told Matt last week that I really needed to soak in how normal our lives were in comparison to last year at this time. That says a lot given that we are currently living in a pandemic.

We haven’t seen a lot of our family and friends in over a year. We snowballed from Brooks’ transplant into cold/flu season into Covid.

But you know what? We are home. We are healthy. We have each other. All four of us. Something I fervently prayed for last year.

The days in the hospital were emotional to say the least, but this year has been its own kind of hard. We are SO incredibly grateful that Brooks has had a fantastic recovery so far, but the road is long and we (mainly I) remain on an emotional rollercoaster.

In addition to forever monitoring his liver health and function, we must also be very aware of his autoimmune disorder that caused his liver failure. Therefore, he now sees 5 specialists in addition to his GI/liver doc to monitor all aspects of the disorder. And finally, we will have to continue monitoring the function of his solitary kidney, especially with the number of medications he’s on for his liver.

I’m not sure if these things will ever be easy, but we are still blessed. We’re constantly learning and reminded of the importance of having perspective and gratitude.

Perspective:

Some days I look at Brooks and cry because I’m sad for (and totally amazed by) what his little body went through and continues to go through. Numerous medications, blood draws, ultrasounds, doc visits. It just doesn’t seem fair for someone so young to have to face these things. This thought is usually then interrupted by him flipping over the couch or slamming his dump truck into a tower of blocks yelling “CRASH!” That’s when I realize he’s doing just fine. 🙂

Some days I stare so hard into his eyes making sure they’re bright white, praying I don’t see any discoloration. And then because I’m so close he usually smashes his face into mine and gives me a big kiss.

Some days feel like they’re consumed by medication dosing, inventory and ordering, or scheduling & going to doctors appointments. And then I realize what a blessing it is to have modern medicine making it capable for him to be here.

Then there’s the ball of nerves that hits me every time a “MyChart Test Results” notification comes through or a caller ID for a Cleveland number calls. But praise the Lord, so far most of these things have been just routine. And while waiting for results stresses me out, I am grateful he is being monitored so closely.

And it’s almost a daily basis that I look at him with tears in my eyes because I love him so incredibly much and I know what a tremendous gift and blessing it is to have him here with us. Things could have gone so differently, but they didn’t.

It sounds like a lot of tears- but I promise this year has also given us a renewed sense of love, joy and appreciation for our family. This past year we have also watched Brooks transform from a baby to an amazing little boy. He’s smart, brave, strong, hilarious, compassionate and so full of LIFE and joy. And whether he knows it yet or not, he has the light of God in him that has blessed us all.

Gratitude:

We are forever grateful for faith and God’s peace, which without I would crumble in fear.

We are forever grateful for my brother and our superhero, “Uncle G”, for his tremendous gift of life. He literally saved my son’s life. And as if him giving Brooks part of his liver wasn’t enough, he drove 20 hours up from Texas to quarantine with my parents for 2 weeks so that he could safely come celebrate the anniversary with us.

We are forever grateful for the incredible team at the Cleveland Clinic. Their level of care and concern has exceeded our expectations and we feel so blessed to be in the best hands

We are forever grateful to everyone who prayed for us, reached out to us, signed up to be his living donor and donated to COTA for Brooks. You are our angels.

So again I point out perspective and gratitude. Yeah it stinks not seeing family and friends and not having the holiday gatherings and not going anywhere because of Covid. This was supposed to be our big year to celebrate together since we were in Cleveland for the holidays last year. But it sure beats the alternative to what we faced last year. If we really focus on the positives of the pandemic, we’ve had uninterrupted time at home with our sweet boys. Literally something I prayed and dreamed that we would be able to have back when we were in the hospital waiting for a donor match for Brooks.

If only we could see the joy ahead when we’re in the midst of a challenge…

God is good. He doesn’t promise us a life without hurt. He promises us He will be with us every step of the way, and thank goodness for that.

So now we will be spending the day crying, laughing, hugging and chasing our rambunctious little boy who shows no evidence of a liver transplant other than a faded scar.

Thank you for praying for us through this journey. Miracles do happen.

Love,

Matt & Andrea Campbell